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Yoliswa Moyo, Features Editor

Zimbabwe buckles up for an interesting season ahead as President Mnangagwa on Wednesday proclaimed August 23 as election day.

Voters have long anticipated the announcement of this day as political undertones had begun to grow somewhat louder. 

The country has been holding harmonised elections since 2008 where polls are held at the same time for representatives of local authorities, Parliament (the National Assembly and the Senate), provincial councils and the Presidency.

Harmonised elections are typically conducted every five years and the five-year electoral cycle precipitates a heightened electoral mode in the socio-economic and political environment as it rolls towards its end and polls approach.

This manifests in political parties carrying out their internal party processes, vetting and selecting their candidates and spearheading campaigns for their candidates and party positions relating to the impending election.

Some of these processes have been done and with the President having proclaimed election day, there’s no turning back.

President Mnangagwa said the nomination court would sit on June 21 and if a run-off election becomes necessary, it will be held on October 2.

In a Government Gazette titled Proclamation 4 of 2023 in Section d, President Mnangagwa said: “fix the 23rd day of August, 2023, as the day of the election to the office of President, the election of members of the National Assembly and election of councillors, that is to say, as the day on which a poll shall be taken if a poll becomes necessary in terms of section 46(17)(c) or 125(4)(b) of the Electoral Act (Chapter 2:13) for the election to the office of President or any such members of the National Assembly or councillors.”

He continued: “(e) fix the 2nd day of October 2023, as the day of the runoff election to the office of President, that is to say as the day on which a poll shall be taken if such a poll becomes necessary in terms of section 38(1)(a)(iii) of the Electoral Act.”

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) chief elections officer Mr Utoile Silaigwana told Chronicle that the proclamation officially starts the election period which will be followed by a number of activities such as the closure of the voters’ roll inspection two days after the proclamation.

He said anyone who registers after the two days following the proclamation would not be eligible to vote in this year’s election.

“There will be a nomination court where prospective candidates from councillors, members of parliament in the National Assembly and the Senate, and presidential candidates and the youth quota and also a quota to cater for people with disabilities.

“Once it has been done, the next process is to prepare ballot papers. We cannot prepare ballot papers before candidates are known,” he said.

The nomination of candidates takes place at least 14 days after the issuance of the proclamation calling for elections.

Political parties can furnish ZEC with nomination papers for its representatives intending to contest in all the elections, countersigned by designated office bearers of the political parties concerned in advance.

ZEC will scrutinise these and request the political parties to attend to any queries which may arise from the nomination papers and re-submit them after rectifying the identified queries. This provision, if adhered to, will significantly reduce the workload of the nomination court on the date of its sitting as the bulk of the work would have been done in advance.

It also helps political parties to attend to some queries which would have otherwise resulted in their candidates being disqualified on nomination day and potentially limits the prospects of nomination court-related appeals.

Any person registered on the voters’ roll is entitled to inspect the nomination papers filed before a nomination officer before the sitting of the nomination court or after the close of the nomination court on such conditions as may be prescribed.

“Our ballot paper is defined by the photos of the candidates and once that is done, the process of printing, distribution of materials, both human and material resources begins,” said Mr Silaigwana.

He said the commission would make sure there is adequate voter education and various effective platforms such as radio, television, and print media and voter educators would be deployed to disseminate information that is required.

ZEC in February and April this year conducted mobile voter registration exercises which awarded the electorate, particularly those in remote areas, an opportunity to register the vote.

The Civil Registry Department also embarked on a campaign to allow undocumented citizens to acquire national documents.

ZEC said everyone who registered to vote would not be disenfranchised as the electoral body would rectify any anomalies that would be detected during the voters roll inspection exercise.

Apart from the physical assessment of the voters’ roll, Econet and NetOne mobile phone subscribers can check their registration status using the *265# facility.

Zanu-PF has been actively mobilising its members from the grassroots level through party structures to register to vote. Primaries were held with new blood and dark horses emerging as winners to represent the party in the upcoming harmonised polls.

On the other hand, however, Citizens Coalition for Change leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa’s election strategy has been shrouded in mystery with members complaining of the lack of transparency.

Advocate Chamisa said he was “keeping the strategy to his chest”, which further casts doubt on his secret society and no-structures-strategy.

The absence of democracy and dictatorship also undermine the opposition’s election hope.

The Constitutional Court recently dismissed an application lodged by MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora to have the 2023 Delimitation Report prepared by Zec set aside for unconstitutionality, which saw the falling away of the application for postponement of elections.

The MDC-T has had its fair share of challenges and it remains to be seen how they will fare in the upcoming elections.

Now is the time for political parties to put forward strong manifestos that will sway the electorate in their direction.

Political tangibilities might come in handy for the ruling party which has embarked on a number of developmental projects across the country since the coming in of the Second Republic.

Only one woman, United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) leader Ms Elisabeth Valerio, has so far declared interest in running for the top position in the land.

Although Zec says there are now six million registered voters in Zimbabwe with the majority of them being women, fewer women than men have shown interest in political participation.

Ms Valerio said she would not allow herself to be overwhelmed by the fact that she is the only female presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections, choosing rather to focus on her party’s vision than gender issues.

“Being the only female presidential candidate in Zimbabwe may come with its challenges and expectations but I choose to focus more on UZA’s vision and on implementing our ideas for building a better Zimbabwe. I don’t allow myself to feel overwhelmed by the noise and external factors,” she said.

Meanwhile, a country cannot be truly democratic until its citizens have the opportunity to choose their representatives through elections that are free and fair.

Critical development efforts cannot succeed without a legitimate and democratically elected government that is responsive and accountable to its citizens. Elections provide an important opportunity to advance democratisation and encourage political liberalisation.

For an election to be free and fair, certain civil liberties, such as the freedoms of speech, association and assembly, are required while political debate and public dialogue are an integral part of the process.

Because the die has been cast, Zimbabwe trudges on to that chosen Autumn day. May the best man (or woman) win! — @Yolisswa